


You Can Always Start Over

by oceantidesandsightlines



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fix-It, I mean I'm driving so I should probably have a better idea but whatever, I'm on this ride just as much as you guys, M/M, Post Season 8, Season 8 Spoilers, The real journey is the friendships we made along the way, i'll add more tags as they become relevant, keith pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 20:44:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17087423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceantidesandsightlines/pseuds/oceantidesandsightlines
Summary: Keith just wants to help people, which would go a lot smoother if he weren't being kicked out of the system by his own squad for some... what did they call it? "Down time"? Sounds fake, but Keith knows when to admit defeat.





	You Can Always Start Over

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Keith. He just wants to keep working. Everyone else has other plans for him, though. Sorry, kiddo. You've been outvoted.

_"Life isn't simple. But the beauty of it is, you can always start over. It'll get easier."_

_\- - -_

Times like these, Keith missed Lance. After living in each other's pockets for a year, he'd be the first to admit that he didn't appreciate everyone's strengths. Every burned pan left to soak and he remembered to send Hunk a letter. Every technological mishap that he should be able to fix, and he wondered if Pidge was back from wherever she'd gone that week. Public speeches? Good god, where's Shiro with a pen and paper when you need him? Or now, the endless line waiting to shake his hand and thank him with a sincerity and intensity that quite frankly scared him a little. Lance was always the people person. He had the perky, boisterous personality and charm that crowds ate up with a spoon.

If one more person pulled Keith close, looked him in the eye, and gave a heartfelt speech he was going to scream.

He appreciated the sentiment. But he didn't know what to do with it. He didn't gather and rework the remaining Blades into a humanitarian mission for the accolades. He saw a universe of people that needed help and got to work. End of story. And yet there he was, blinking through the discomfort. He took a deep breath and channeled his inner Lance. Pulling the person shaking his hand in closer, he cupped their other elbow and smiled at them. "You never have to thank us for doing what we did," he said, shaking his head. "Or for what we're doing now. I'd like to think anyone would have done exactly as I did. That if I were sitting here, hungry and thirsty, you'd be feeding me too. So go, get something to eat and some blankets. Hold your family closer tonight. We're all still here to appreciate each other, so take advantage of the opportunity."

The man, a tall alien with rubbery yellow limbs, trilled at him and broke away toward the supply tent. Looking around, he warmed with a feeling of pride and purpose. When Lotor's former generals had decided they were going to work with him, no one knew how the arrangement would shake out. They'd fought through the initial friction, none of them ready to forget that they'd spent the last year trying to kill each other. The universe was justifiably hesitant to trust the remaining Galra, but Keith had done a lot toward nurturing the growing alliance. Coming out as half Galra had shocked the masses, but it sent the message to not paint them all with the same brush. That he, nor anyone working with him now, had any plans to hurt them. Public criticism skyrocketed as he landed on planet after planet with the women at his side. Suspicions fizzled out after months of nothing happening, though. People were simply too exhausted after the war to keep up the fight any longer. They were finally ready to accept the help, no matter who it came from.

Keith startled when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey guys! Look who I found!" Hunk said. He was holding a tablet aloft, and Keith could see his parents' faces squashed together in the frame. They lit up and waved when Hunk turned the camera on him. He threw an arm around Keith's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Keith's been doing the humanitarian thing for awhile now. We happened to be on the same planet at the same time, so I've been helping him out!"

"I know you're used to fancier foods now," Keith wavered. "But I really appreciate you helping us."

Hunk shook his head and squeezed him. "Dude, we're feeding the people we saved. Just because no one's actively under threat of death anymore doesn't mean they don't need other kinds of help. A lot of people don't even have home planets to go back to. You're doing a lot of good work, and I'm proud of you, buddy."

"Oh, honey, you're embarrassing the poor boy! Keith, next time you're on Earth, why don't you stop by? We'd love to say hi and catch up!" Hunk's mom said. Keith sighed and flashed her a smile for distracting Hunk. He was getting better at this kind of thing, but to have the full force of Hunk's sunshine on him was still as uncomfortable as all the citizens who did the same thing.

"Yeah! Are you heading back to Earth anytime soon? I've got goody boxes for people, but I'm not due back for another couple of weeks. Can you drop them off?" Hunk asked. Keith wasn't scheduled to head back to Earth for awhile either, but their next location was closer than Hunk's. He could probably squeeze in a quick drop off, though.

"Take him and make him go away for awhile," Ezor interrupted. "If this is the pace you guys set with Voltron, I don't know how you managed to win without burning out. He's driving us crazy. Who's never heard of a day off?" She grinned at Keith's indignant squawk.

"That settles it," Hunk's dad said. "Keith, head out whenever you're done there. Let us know when you're back in the system and we'll have the guest room waiting!" And so Keith found himself summarily marched off planet under threat of being "yeeted directly into the nearest sun, as Lance says" by Zethrid. The others had laughed in his face when he asked when he could come back.

He had the sinking feeling he wasn't returning to work for awhile.

**Author's Note:**

> Why not come say hi on tumblr? I can be found at [oceantidesandsightlines!](http://oceantidesandsightlines.tumblr.com)


End file.
